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Andromeda (TV series)

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Andromeda
File:Andromeda ascendant.jpg
Created byGene Roddenberry
StarringKevin Sorbo
Lisa Ryder
Keith Hamilton Cobb
Lexa Doig
Laura Bertram
Gordon Michael Woolvett
Brent Stait
Steve Bacic
Brandy Ledford
Country of originCanada, United States
No. of episodes110
Production
Running timeapprox. 45 mins (per episode)
Original release
NetworkSci Fi Channel
ReleaseOctober 2, 2000 –
May 13, 2005

Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda was a science fiction television series, created by Gene Roddenberry but produced posthumously. It starred Kevin Sorbo as High Guard Captain Dylan Hunt. The series premiered on October 2, 2000 and ended on May 13, 2005.

Plot and production

At the start of the series three galaxies are mostly part of the Systems Commonwealth, quite a utopian society based from Tarn-Vedra. However, one of the Commonwealth’s member species, the Nietzscheans, become disillusioned with the peace with the Magog, and overthrew the Commonwealth. In the first battle, Dylan Hunt is forced to evacuate his crew, but his ship, the Andromeda Ascendant, gets caught on the edge of a black hole’s event horizon. Over 300 years later, a salvage crew (on the Eureka Maru) rescues him. The Systems Commonwealth has fallen, leading to a dark age known as the Long Night. Hunt recruits the salvage crew to join him in an attempt to restore the Systems Commonwealth and “rekindle the light of civilization.”

Season one of the series shows Hunt assembling the crew and adjusting to the new universe, while pursuing the creation of the Restored Systems Commonwealth; the second season shows the crew reacting to the sudden necessity of the Restored Systems Commonwealth after the discovery of the Magog Worldship, as they continue to make sure the dream comes true. Season three shows the Restored Systems Commonwealth implemented and the crew preparing for the impending fight against the Spirit of the Abyss and the Magog, while season four shows the new Commonwealth corrupted by its enemies, thus making survival against said enemies more difficult.

Andromeda is one of two TV series (to date) based upon concepts Roddenberry had created as early as the 1960s and 1970s. The name Dylan Hunt had also been given to the heroes of two TV movie pilots Roddenberry had produced in the mid-1970s. Another series posthumously “created” by Roddenberry is Earth: Final Conflict.

Controversy erupted during the midst of the second season when series developer Robert Hewitt Wolfe announced he had been let go from the show’s production, though his influence was felt through the completion of the second season; at that point, Bob Engels was brought on to executive produce the series. The reason for the change was due to the desire to make the show more episodic and open to “casual viewers,” as Wolfe’s version although episodic had many storylines and continuing story arcs. After the show’s final episode aired, Wolfe wrote a one-act play that he placed on his website, entitled Coda that explained his version of the show (and without contradicting the already aired episodes).

In discussion on his website's forums and various interviews with online magazines and websites in the last two years. Robert Wolfe elaborated that he was released from the production staff when he refused to increase the coverage of Kevin Sorbo's character, Dylan Hunt, by making each of Andromeda's episodes Hunt-centred. The events of the episode "Oroboros", the final episode written by Wolfe, were the last major changes that Wolfe was willing to do to the series.

When Engels took over and the show began the more “episodic” format, reactions from the fans were mixed. The new producers tried to lighten the doom and gloom seriousness of the original story arc, while focusing more on the Dylan Hunt character played by Kevin Sorbo. Some felt that the quality and fun of the series had jumped, while others considered the new season to be seriously lacking in depth, and little more than “Hercules in Space” (see Kevin Sorbo & Hercules: The Legendary Journeys). Consequently, the success of the episodic format was as questionable, and most fans feel that the dismissal of Wolfe and the switch to the episodic format was the moment the series jumped the shark.

Eventually the fourth and fifth seasons saw a return to the arc plotlines and the series reached resolution at the end of season 5 in 2005. Ultimately, the series never reached the widespread success of Star Trek or the cult following of Babylon 5. The series was subsequently picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel in the US.

Unlike other sci-fi series, recurring characters are often separated, and don’t appear always together. As a consequence, Kevin Sorbo (as Dylan Hunt) is the only actor to appear in every episode of the series.

Cast

Main characters

Recurring and guest characters

Fictional weapons in the series

Ship weapons

There are 8 major classifications of battleships (and several subcategories under those). Each type of ship has a unique complement of weapons and defenses. The ship's primary armaments are energy weapons based on antiproton technology. Each ship also has a (varying) number of missiles and drone fighters.

Andromeda's Weapons

40 EMP launchers firing 1 kg offensive missiles at 0.9 c (20 megatons of KE) at a rate of 8 rounds per second each (320 rounds per second or 6.4 gigatons per second total) with an effective combat range of 1.5 light-minutes (27 million km) and a max range of 8 light-minutes (150 million km)

AP cannons—most powerful weapon (anti-proton stream traveling at .99 c) with a range of 4 light-seconds (1.2 million km)

It has over 100 fighters each carrying 6 offensive missiles and anti proton cannons.

The missiles are the size of a fist and weighs one kilogram and becomes 20 megatons of force upon impact in when it travels 95% of speed of light.

Andromeda can fire 360 missiles per second. It can also depopulate a planet in under 2 minutes with its fire-power.

Defenses:

  • High tension armor: blocks enemy sensors from penetrating hull and takes a lot of damage
  • Point defense lasers: destroys asteroids and blocks enemy fire
  • Defensive missiles: blocks enemy fire
  • AG fields: deflect or slow weapons fire.


In Andromeda, they've taken smart bombs to the next level. Almost every weapon from bullets to drones has some form of intelligence. Many ships, including the Andromeda Ascendant, have sentient Artificial Intelligence Entities calling the shots.

Nova Bomb: The nova bomb is a bomb with the power to destroy a solar system. It is used by firing the bomb into the core of a star. When it enters the star it reverses the gravity in an area bigger than the size of a star. The internal pressure of the star then causes an explosion. It then goes supernova, which destroys everything in the star's vicinity. On a smaller scale it can destroy a planet as well.

Defensive personal weapons

The show also has distinctive personal weaponry for hand-to-hand combat.

Instead of stun guns, you capture an enemy by throwing a "bander" (a Frisbee that when tossed "unwinds into a series of coils, then wraps around its target, immobilizing it.").

For protection you wear a "bracer" on your arm that expands into a physical shield.

According to the official Andromeda web site: "In shield mode, a bracer's surface is optically reflective to reflect laser beams and is strong enough to deflect bullets and other kinetic projectile attacks. In addition to their combat capacity, bracers incorporate a number of sophisticated electronic devices, including portable computers, communicators and sensors."

Offensive personal weapons

The most common type of personal handgun is a gauss gun, which accelerates a smart bullet at supersonic speeds using electromagnetic forces.

The most distinctive (and probably signature) personal weapon of the show is the "force-lance" also called the F-Lance.

It looks like a harmless metallic tube approximately 1/3 meter in length but (according to the Andromeda site) "can be extended into a quarterstaff almost two meters long. When used in a melee, the F-Lance can be charged with an electrical current, shocking anyone it hits into unconsciousness...It can also fire a plasma beam, in both the extended and retracted position, which can be used in ranged combat, or as a cutting tool or light source." It can also be programmed to one's own DNA. If someone tries to use your lance without your DNA, that person will be tasered.

The F-Lance can launch a number of self-guided tiny attack drones (called "effectors") that both target opponents and intercept incoming bullets and missiles. It can be used in ranged combat, or as a cutting tool or light source. It has a grappling hook function. Finally it can be used as a bomb as well.


See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to Andromeda.
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